Bartosz Smektała wins in Güstrow

Polish rider, Bartosz Smektała won the second round of Eko-Dir FIM Speedway U21 World Championship, which was held in Güstrow. Other steps of the podium were taken by Brit - Robert Lambert and Australian - Brady Kurtz.

Meeting in Güstrow was proceeded in a rapid rate, which was caused by tough weather conditions. First series of starts began with Jack Holder's and Alexander Woentin's fall. Both got up quickly, however and started in heat's repeat. First four heats brought some surprises as well, including Bartosz Smektała's exclusion after falling on the lead.

- I made a school mistake. I've never felt confident on slick tracks and it was clearly seen - Smektała said.

After two series of starts, four riders had 5 points each. Surprisingly, in the lower part of the table, we had Jack Holder and fourth rider of the overall classification - Jevgenijs Kostigovs, who clearly couldn't handle geometry of German track.

Third series brought wins of Dominik Kubera, Bartosz Smektała, Brady Kurtz and Eduard Krcmar. In heat no.11, Maksym Drabik fell while attacking rivals from 4th position. Good disposition was confirmed by Dane, Andreas Lyager, who had 7 points after three starts.

Fourth series started with Robert Lambert's win. Brit had some ups and downs and mixed "ones" with first positions. Brady Kurtz showed a great power and was winning his heats with a huge 20-meters long advantage. Job was done also by Fricke and Smektała, who brought another wins. Fifth series is another "zero" of Kubera, which crossed his plans to advance to the semi-final. After fighting with Lambert, "three" was added to Maksym Drabik's points. Also Jack Holder got the first heat win, however that was not enough to jump to the TOP 8. Main series ended with Max Fricke's win.

After twenty heats, it was Brady Kurtz on the top of the table. Actually, Australian got only one loss - in heat no.8, "BK" was defeated by Kacper Woryna. In the semis we had also Drabik, Lyager, Fricke, Berge, Smektała, Lambert and Woryna.

In the first semi-final, Woryna made the best start and confidently led the stake. Fight for the 2nd position was between Kurtz and Drabik. At the starting straight, "Torres" hooked the air-fence, which made him fall. Unfortunately, Drabik was taken to the hospital with a suspicion of shoulder's injury. In heat's repeat, it was Kurtz having the best start and he secured his spot in the final. Woryna got promoted from the 2nd position.

Second semi-final looked impressive. After an equal start, riders were in tight contact. At the 2nd corner, Fricke made a mistake, fell down and got excluded from heat's repeat. Second attempt to heat no.22 was won by Lambert overtaking Smektała and Dimitri Berge, for whom it was a last heat of the meeting.

Final heat brought tons of emotions to all fans. After a phenomenal fight, it was Bartosz Smektała ending this heat as a winner. Video replays had to be viewed to help referee make a decision whether who was second at the finish line. Ultimately, second position was taken by Robert Lambert and the lowest step of the podium was taken by Brady Kurtz.

Before the final round of Eko-Dir FIM Speedway U21 World Championship 2017, which will take place in Pardubice, it's Maksym Drabik leading the table with a 1-point advantage over Bartosz Smektała and 3 over Max Fricke. Brady Kurtz and Robert Lambert are currently fourth.